


can i have this dance?

by zommijin



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Bringing East High prom to nini, E.J. n his guitar, Everyone pops out of a bush, F/M, Future Fic, Nini at YAC, One Shot, Prom, Quoting hsm bc they’re nerds, RINI CONTENT, Senior year, Slow Dancing, how to summary?, i do not know, n living her best life bc gorl deserves it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22005760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zommijin/pseuds/zommijin
Summary: Based off a Twitter prompt by @nini_ricky: Ricky doing what Troy did and skipped prom to drive to Denver to surprise Nini and have his last East High prom with her while singing ‘can I have this dance?’(aka 1330 words of me being a sucker for rini)
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 5
Kudos: 122





	can i have this dance?

**Author's Note:**

> rini content rini content rini content rini content rini content
> 
> ok have fun
> 
> also idk I was picturing this scene in my head as I wrote it so it’s very dialogue heavy and written more like tv show-like?? if that makes sense lol

  
“Hey, _buddy._ ”

The familiar, teasing voice made Nini stop in her tracks.

She turned around, heart beating wildly. “Ricky—?“

Nini cut herself off at the hilariously bizarre sight of Ricky awkwardly crouching on the branch of the huge tree in the middle of the courtyard, in a _suit._ He held on to two other smaller branches for support, wobbling. Letting go of one of the branches, he waved and the sudden movement made him lose his balance and he fell to the grass below, barely missing the bench below.

A passing student gave them weird looks, and quickened their pace. 

”Oh my god. Ricky!” Nini laughed, rushing to help him up. Ricky accepted her hand, then stood in front of her, a dorky smile on his face. A long curl of his hair had fallen into his eyes, and she impulsively brushed it away. Then she quickly drew her hand back.

“That didn’t go as planned.” Ricky scratched his head, letting out a small laugh. Sunlight seeped through the leaves of the trees, glinting off of his necklace, and speckling his skin with spots of gold. He grinned sheepishly. 

"So, um, what are you doing here?" Nini felt her voice go up an extra octave, the British accent coming out and her nerves fluttering in her stomach. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, shifting back and forth on her feet. 

"I may have taken the wrong turn on getting to prom." Ricky bit his lip, his gaze focused on somewhere over Nini's shoulder. She turned her head, but saw nothing but the bushes, so she returned her focus on Ricky. 

"Oh?" Nini raised an eyebrow, teasingly. "Denver is kinda far from Salt Lake City. You must suck at directions." 

"Well, I guess it didn’t really feel like prom without you." Ricky smiled warmly at her, sending little butterflies into the insides of her stomach. "I—uh— my prom is wherever you are." He reached into his jacket, and pulled out a corsage. 

Something about the quote seemed oddly familiar, and then followed by the corsage—the pieces clicked. "You’re quoting High School Musical Three. Don't tell me you’re going to—" 

"Well, I mean honestly, I’d really like my last East High dance, it would be with you." Ricky smiled taking her hand, and slipping the corsage onto her wrist. He gazed into her eyes, and Nini felt her palms growing sweaty. A wave of silence passed, and Nini tilted her head, a bit confused. 

"Are you going to sing or..?" Nini asked, letting out a giggle. Her eyes sparkled, and her teasing tone made Ricky blush, as he awkwardly waiting for the music to start. 

"Yeah, it is. Um." He cleared his throat, looking around. "The part for me to _sing."_ Enunciating the last bit, he let out a sigh. 

Nini raised an eyebrow, now clearly confused. "Are you waiting for someon—" 

"I’m sorry! I missed the cue. My bad." Red suddenly popped out from one of the bushes behind the tree, guilty look on his face.

Nini jumped, letting go of Ricky's hand. "What the—" 

Red was promptly followed by Ashlyn, Gina, Seb, Carlos, E.J., and Kourtney, all in their prom outfits, all popping out of the bushes. Nini's eyes widened at the sight of everyone, her mouth opening but no sounds came out. 

"We missed the cue. Dang it!" Miss Jenn popped out of the bush behind them, surprising Nini even more. "Quick, set everything up." She quickly brushed some leaves out of her hair and directed Seb and Carlos to hang a string of Christmas lights onto the tree. 

"G-guys! You all came?" Nini finally squeaked in disbelief, rushing to greet them. 

"Of course we did. Wouldn’t be prom without you." Ashlyn smiled, and Nini pulled her into a hug. 

"You guys look amazing!" Nini gushed over Kourtney and Gina's dresses. As she caught up with her friends, Ricky walked over to E.J., who was picking up his guitar. 

E.J. winked at Ricky, and propped up the guitar. "Ready, lover boy?" E.J. lowered his voice slightly. "You got this, man. I got your back. I spent way too long learning this song for you to back out now." 

Ricky let out a small laugh and gave him a thumbs up. E.J. then cleared his voice, grabbing the attention of most of the others, and gestured at Ricky, before gently strumming a chord. 

As the first few chords were played, Kourtney and Gina gently pushed Nini into Ricky's arms. He grinned adorably, and took her hands. 

_"Take my hand, I'll take the lead. And every turn will be safe with me."_

Ricky placed his hand on her back, feeling the soft material of her shirt. 

They slowly swayed to the music, feet gliding across the concrete floor. Nini smiled up at him, wrapping her hands around his neck. She could’ve stayed in that position forever; the sun warm on her back, the feeling of Ricky's body with his vocals echoing in her ears. The multicoloured lights twinkled for every step they took together.

Ricky didn’t take his eyes off Nini for one moment. She smiled warmly up at him, looking effortlessly beautiful in her t-shirt and jeans. Their eyes met, and for a second, Ricky forgot he had to keep singing. It wasn’t until he realized E.J. had been playing the same chords for a second time, that he continued on. 

_“Don't be afraid, afraid to fall. You know I’ll catch you through it all._

Ricky spun Nini around, then pulled her back in, closer than before. The song continued, and Ricky could feel his heart thumping wildly in his ears. 

Nini jumped on top of the bench, not letting go of Ricky's hand, and did a little spin. She paused for a moment, looking down at him with eyes full of love, and Ricky forgot how to breathe. Then she jumped down, letting Ricky pull her back into another twirl. 

_”’Cause my heart is_ ,” Ricky began, smiling. _“Wherever you are_.” Nini joined him, gently placing her hand on his cheek, and their voices came together. Their noses touched, and Nini couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle.

_“It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It’s one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do.”_

Singing together now, Nini could barely feel her feet dancing against the floor as they spun around and around. Their faces were close, and neither of them could tear their eyes away. 

If either of them had looked away, they would’ve seen Red happily tap-dancing with Ashlyn, both of them grinning, or Seb and Carlos re-doing the choreography step for step, or Gina twirling Kourtney, or E.J. watching everyone with _maybe_ a jealous look in his eye while Miss Jenn shooed away passing students. However, it was their moment and neither had eyes for anyone else. 

_"And with every step together, we keep on getting better."_

Nini stood on her toes, and Ricky bent down to let her spin him around, with a small laugh. He ended up nearly missing his next line again, and the way he adorably scrunched his face up while he sang made Nini's heart flutter. 

_"So can I have this dance?"_

They finished in unison, so close together that their foreheads were touching. As the last few notes faded away, Nini leaned in and kissed him. The cheers of their friends could be heard in the background, but Nini was so far lost in the moment she could barely hear them. 

As she leaned away, Ricky pulled her back in with another kiss, and he smiled into it, lifting his hand up to touch her cheek. 

"I—wow— I have no words." Nini started, as he finally backed up, breathless. 

Ricky grinned. "As someone once told me; sometimes it’s easier to just kiss."

Nini laughed, and pulled him back in. 

**Author's Note:**

> im a literal trash can for rini 
> 
> n e ways, a friend sent this tweet as a prompt to write something for the fandom sooo.. here I am? 
> 
> i haev zero clue how to write romance (or write en general) so I’m very sorry for this epic mess but I hope some of y’all enjoyed it!! 
> 
> leave a comment or a kudo,, or both 👁_👁


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